This exclusive Automotive World report looks at the prospects for the light vehicle and heavy commercial vehicle sectors in India in 2019 and through to 2023

Convinced of sure-fire success, given its seemingly vast potential, global automakers have in recent years been lured to the Indian market. “The underlying rationale for numerous automotive investments in India over the past two decades has been that the region’s vehicle market, although already sizeable, is full of potential for further growth as per capita wealth and income levels increase,” notes Jonathan Storey, author of the Automotive World market outlook report.

However, India has proven far harder to crack than many automakers initially anticipated, with early expectations and market penetration forecasts missed by some considerable distance. Indeed, adds Storey, “Where foreign vehicle makers are concerned, India has seen more losers than winners.” Most foreign automakers’ local operations have been a waste of resources for most of the past two decades, losing money or, at best, making an insignificant contribution to global profit, he states. While Suzuki and Hyundai are the main exceptions to this comment, the withdrawal of Chevrolet, Fiat and MAN only serve to confirm it.

This Automotive World report details a market which, despite ongoing and intense competition, will continue to deliver thin profits for most stakeholders unless market volumes increase substantially. “Unfortunately, our forecast anticipates a steady, not meteoric, rise in demand from 4.5 million units in 2018 to 5 million in 2023,” says Storey.

India is the latest market to be covered in the ongoing Automotive World five-year market outlook series.